Saturday, April 28, 2007

Blancpain 1950s Rare 14K Solid Gold Watch Manual Wind

Blancpain 14K Solid Gold Mens Watch. This Swiss manual wind watch is 14K gold, in good condition and running well. Dial and crystal are very good,and a new band has been fitted. Case back/serial number is 400070 and reads 14K. On the17 jewels movement is stamped “Swiss Made”, “Blancpain, Switzerland”, “Rayville SA”, “Unadjusted”.

The caseback is marked WBO, and it appears that, as was the custom of the time, movements and dials were imported into the US and the case was furnished by the agent/importer. This was a widespread practice at the time, designed to avoid excessive duty on complete watch ensembles.

This is an early and very collectible Blancpain, a company that commands high prices for its new watches. This in-house movement and case with fancy lugs is rare. The movement was made in the factory while the widow of the last Blancpain was running the company, which she ran successfully until her death sometime in the 1960s.The factory stopped production entirely in the 1970s, and only the name and the old factory building survived when Jean-Claude Biver, an Omega executive, purchased the name 18 years later. Various watchmakers’ inscriptions appear on the inner caseback, the earliest legible date of service being 1958.

About Me

I am a long-term collector of vintage Omega watches with a passion for Omega Constellations of the fifties and sixties. This blog is offered as an educational resource for potential and existing collectors who wish to learn more about the brand and avoid the traps and pitfalls of buying in a global market.